Waiter from Hell?

Linda Lee/Lady Quixote

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The following is a slightly edited comment that I recently left on a wonderful post by Mitch Teemley, entitled The Waiter from Hell?  I will paste the link to Mitch’s post at the bottom of this page.

Sunday before last, my husband, his daughter, and I went out for lunch after church. Our waiter was very inept. Not rude and irritable like the bad waiter in Mitch Teemley’s story, our waiter at least had a sweet and humble disposition. But he was doing everything all wrong and backwards, in addition to moving very slowly.

My stepdaughter, whom I love like my own daughter, became noticeably irritable with the waiter. An insulin dependent diabetic, her sugar was dropping while we waited for well over an hour and a half for our food. The waiter didn’t even bring out our drinks or salads before the meal. My stepdaughter used to be a waitress and then a restaurant manager, so she knows how it’s supposed to be done.

After our meal, I felt something tugging at my heart, telling me to walk over to the waiter as he was on his way back to the kitchen with another table’s order. I told him that I had been a waitress for a brief time many years ago and that I was all thumbs at first, but with time I got better. I also told him that my husband had put a good tip for him on our card, to encourage him.

He looked like he wanted to cry. “I’m sorry I made that other lady at your table so mad,” he said. (My stepdaughter had complained to the manager.) “Yes, I am new on this job. I was working as a custodian over at the elementary school for the past four and a half years. But then my son died, and it hurt too much to be around the other children…”

Our waiter from hell was going through hell. And in my opinion, it doesn’t get much more hellish than that.

I explained that my stepdaughter was so irritable because she is a newly diagnosed, insulin dependent diabetic, and her blood sugar was dropping as we waited for the food. “She really needs to eat breakfast before going to church,” I said. And I told him how very sorry I am about the loss of his son, and said I will be praying for him.

I really do believe that most people, most of the time, are doing the best they can with what they have. Love is the number one commandment. Without the spirit of God’s agape love, we have nothing.

It only took me about 60 years to start figuring this stuff out. 😊

Please visit Mitch Teemley’s post, his story is even more mind blowing!
https://mitchteemley.com/2019/07/15/the-waiter-from-hell-2/

37 thoughts on “Waiter from Hell?”

  1. Sue Cass July 17, 2019 / 6:29 pm

    I’m a slow learner, too. 🙂 We all have bad days and we need to remember that. Blessings, Linda.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Lee/@LadyQuixote July 24, 2019 / 8:38 pm

      That’s so true about bad days happening to everyone. Blessings to you, too.

      Like

  2. seekingdivineperspective July 17, 2019 / 6:31 pm

    Wonderful story! There’s a reason we’r told to love unconditionally.

    I told the story from the other side recently. (“That Passenger,” posted June 7)

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Lee/@LadyQuixote July 17, 2019 / 6:37 pm

      I think I remember reading that. I will look it up though, just in case.

      Like

    • Linda Lee/@LadyQuixote July 17, 2019 / 6:42 pm

      Ah ha, as soon as I hit “send” on my reply to your comment, I remembered. You were flying out to see your father, who was on his death bed. You were bringing a very valuable musical instrument, I think a guitar, so you could play music for your father. And the flight attendant wanted you to check it, but you didn’t have a case and you knew it would get damaged. Yes. I’m so glad they were able to store it safely in the bin with the pillows!

      Losing a parent is so hard, regardless of your history with that parent. I know, I have been there. My heart goes out to you.

      Liked by 1 person

      • seekingdivineperspective July 17, 2019 / 7:04 pm

        Good memory! (I had a case, but it was a flimsy one.) The point is, I doubt anyone wakes up in the morning saying “I think I’ll be a jerk today.” So, when in doubt, cut them some slack.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. simplywendi July 17, 2019 / 6:33 pm

    God bless you for taking the time to show this person love…………I know you changed his life!

    Liked by 3 people

    • Linda Lee/@LadyQuixote July 17, 2019 / 6:36 pm

      I really can’t take the credit, I felt like God was almost pushing me to do it. Anyway, I could tell just by looking at his face that something was wrong. Whew. What he told me broke my heart.

      Like

  5. sedge808 July 17, 2019 / 7:40 pm

    ‘It only took me about 60 years to start figuring this stuff out’.

    excellent story.
    I so like how forgiving you were.

    Liked by 3 people

  6. ibikenyc July 17, 2019 / 8:56 pm

    Balm for my soul. Thank you so much. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  7. Tricia July 17, 2019 / 9:35 pm

    Very well said Linda, God bless you.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Linda Lee/@LadyQuixote July 24, 2019 / 8:41 pm

      Thank you so much.

      For some unfathomable reason, your kind comment ended up in my spam folder, along with a lot of other comments that didn’t belong there. I’m sorry I didn’t see this sooner.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Renee/Heart Tokens July 24, 2019 / 10:45 pm

        It’s ok I’m in there a lot here lately😢 That spam filter really don’t like me! 🤷‍♀️ I’m glad you rescued me!

        Liked by 1 person

        • Linda Lee/@LadyQuixote July 25, 2019 / 1:12 pm

          You know, when someone is asking me to send them $500 in order to claim a multi-million dollar inheritance from some people I’ve never heard of, living in a country I’ve never heard of, then yes, those comments belong in spam. But not sweet comments like yours! I’m glad I rescued you, too. 😊

          Liked by 1 person

          • Renee/Heart Tokens July 25, 2019 / 1:23 pm

            This tickled me! My husband got one of those calls to put $500 on a visa and send to them, then they would send him a big prize!…he played along for a few minutes and then let them know the charade was up. They hung up on him lol! I sure wish someone would let Akismet know that I’m not a scammer or something! 🐇🎩

            Liked by 1 person

  9. laronda65 July 17, 2019 / 10:17 pm

    Isn’t it amazing what can happen when we act on those nudges from the Holy Spirit? Why is it so hard to remember that other people are doing the best they can with what they’ve got when I look out at the world wishing so very much that someone, anyone, would realize that it’s amazing that I’m functioning as well as I am. Great story to share!

    Liked by 2 people

    • Linda Lee/@LadyQuixote July 18, 2019 / 8:07 am

      “Why is it so hard to remember that other people are doing the best they can with what they’ve got when I look out at the world wishing so very much that someone, anyone, would realize that it’s amazing that I’m functioning as well as I am.” — that made me chuckle, because it’s so true! Thanks for sharing that.

      Like

  10. hawk2017 July 18, 2019 / 11:52 am

    Took me many years to be aware of this. We never know. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  11. bornagain732 July 18, 2019 / 1:41 pm

    👍🏻🙏🏻💕

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Celebrate His Love July 19, 2019 / 8:18 am

    Beautiful story… at ‘our’ age, it’s good to have learned these things. Love is a gift we give, even ‘before’ others deserve it…as God did and continually does with us. I’ve learned to ask servers how their day is going…and often tell them we’re going to pray and bless our meal and then ask ‘How can we pray for you?’ They often offer specific requests, and no one has refused prayer yet. We all need it. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Lee/@LadyQuixote July 24, 2019 / 8:49 pm

      Thank you so much for this beautiful comment. For some unfathomable reason, your comment ended up in my spam folder, along with a lot of other comments that did not belong there. I’m sorry I didn’t see this sooner.

      God bless.

      Liked by 1 person

  14. DI July 20, 2019 / 4:41 pm

    This brought me to tears. I often tell people to try not to judge others based on one minute of time spent with them, but think of their entire life. One also never knows what they are secretly dealing with.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Fleur McMorrow July 29, 2019 / 9:48 pm

    WOW, Brilliant post. I have a long ways to go yet, but God’s timetable always makes room for us. By the way, I forgot to say “thank you” to your husband for his service in Viet Nam. Years ago, as a volunteer for Point Man Ministries, I used to write thank you notes anonymously to veterans–it felt good to be a blessing, even in a small way. ❤

    Liked by 1 person

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